CLAUDIA RUSSELL is an outstanding singer and songwriter who has shared stages with Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer, Loudon Wainwright III, Steve Forbert, Tish Hinojosa, Kris Kristoffersen, Willie Nelson, Darryl Purpose, Peter Rowan, Rosalie Sorrels and Bill Staines, among many others. She is accompanied by husband BRUCE KAPLAN on mandolin, guitar and vocals.

Besides writing evocative songs, Claudia is known for her vocal talent. She is an expressive and versatile singer, as at home on a soulful ballad as a Buddy Holly style romp.

With its memorable melodies and seductive soundscape, her latest album, All Our Luck Is Changing, elicits the classic era of ageless American music. Russell delivers a whimsical melting pot of traditional and contemporary styles, from earnest folk to sweet jug band blues, driven by her deft guitar work and a versatile, expressive voice that tips the hat to artists as diverse as Dolly Parton, Suzanne Vega and Aretha Franklin. Claudia paints her material with emotional depth, looking forward and back at life with both childlike awe and the mature wisdom of a musician with four decades of music under her belt.

Working with three-time Grammy nominee producer Peter Case, Claudia and her husband Bruce Kaplan (guitar, mandolin) cut the majority of the record live with some of LA’s best musicians. Using just a few overdubs, Case created a balance between the immediacy of a live record and the freedom to embellish that the studio experience inspires.

Though they might not carry the trappings of the usual music industry formula for overnight success, self-described ‘late bloomers’ Russell and Kaplan have refined their sound into an eclectic, full-bodied tapestry of unplugged Americana. Giving themselves the time and space to come into their own as people and musicians has allowed for the creation of their definitive album. The duo have dealt themselves a winning hand. Indeed, all you have to do is listen and you too will believe!  All Their Luck Is Changing!

KATIE DAHL Wisconsin singer-songwriter Katie has performed her original songs everywhere from the dusty cliff country of Mali, West Africa, to the winding canals of southern France, to the cedar forests of the American northwoods. The depth and power of Katie’s alto voice, the literate candor of her original songs, and the easy humor of her live performances have earned her numerous songwriting awards, as well as the chance to share stages with such luminaries as Dar Williams, Peter Mulvey, Julie Gold, and Cheryl Wheeler. Katie is also a playwright whose musical Victory Farm premiered to high acclaim in 2012 and has since been made into a live cast album.

Mike Fischer of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel writes that Katie Dahl “combine[s] old-fashioned populism, an abiding love of the land, and wickedly smart love songs, all delivered in a rich and expressive alto.”

“Crowns,” the opening track from “Ordinary Band,” hit number one on the folk radio charts for July 2015. The album “Ordinary Band” was #4 overall. The full rundown is here.  Katie performs with sideman RICH HIGDON on bass and washboard.